To foster the entrepreneur ecosystem around IndiaStack and Bharat-centric business models, we conducted a Bharat Inclusion sprint at Zone Startups, Mumbai on 12th May. This was in collaboration with iSPIRT, a think tank for the Indian software products industry working in tandem with government policies and tapping the novel possibilities of Digital India.
The sprint hosted sessions conducted by experts in the field of financial inclusion, IndiaStack and behavioural science. The participants were primarily startups that would benefit significantly from adopting IndiaStack and businesses having BoP Indian population (Bharat segment) as their target market.
The first half of the sprint featured interactive sessions focusing on human centered design. Benis Kumar (FinalMile) discussed the role of emotions and subconscious thinking in financial decision making.
We caught up with Benis Kumar who shared his thoughts on the Bharat Inclusion Initiative, upcoming opportunities in the Inclusion space and why entrepreneurs should focus on building solutions for Bharat.
Later, Akhand Tiwari (MicroSave) highlighted semiotic design and UI insights catering to the oral, underserved customer base. In the second half, Pramod Varma (Chief Architect, Aadhaar) shared valuable perspectives on IndiaStack APIs and their potential to improve the lives of the next billion. Nikhil Kumar (Head, Developer Ecosystem — iSPIRT) threw light on platform thinking, use cases and updates on upcoming APIs like e-Mandate and UPI 2.0. In the later part of the day, an exhaustive Q&A session was arranged, with Pramod, Sanjay Jain (CIO, CIIE) and Tanuj Bhojwani (Associate — Investments, CIIE) catering to specific queries of entrepreneurs on IndiaStack implementation, policy changes and ground level execution.
The session was received in an overall positive note by the participants, key takeaways being the importance of IndiaStack platforms when building for Bharat, the technical and behavioral nuances of their implementation and developing a better understanding of the needs of the underserved segment. The decision to allocate more time for Q&A paid rich dividends, as the participants were able to put forth and seek clarifications on key concern areas. Suggestions were received on showcasing live use cases and go beyond financial inclusion. Multiple participants evinced interest in using Aadhaar Pay and UPI 2.0 (payment mandate) extensively for their business.
We also caught up with entrepreneurs who are in the thick of things in the inclusion space to understand the challenges they face, and how the Bharat Inclusion Initiative can help them.
CIIE’s follow-up plans would include custom-tailoring its programs, including, workshops and sprints based on the feedback received. Additionally, we are creating a like-minded community of entrepreneurs, influencers and stakeholders to initiate free-flow of knowledge and support. We encourage startups and entrepreneurs in the fintech and inclusion space to stay connected and keep us updated on the support they need in building inclusive solutions for Bharat.